"It's not over yet, Shiki!"
Raleigh roared, the blade in his hand emitting a dazzling light.
"Single Sword Style: Thousand Strikes!"
Countless fine, dust-like winds erupted from the blade of Mikazuki Munechika, wreaking havoc inside Golden Lion's body.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Golden Lion's body endured a storm-like assault, his internal organs turning into a pulpy mess.
Countless streams of blood seeped from his pores, dyeing him into a blood-soaked lion.
Like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, the wind coursed through Golden Lion's body.
Every organ, blood vessel, and muscle it passed through fractured and dissolved under its force.
A few seconds later, Garp released Golden Lion's hands, letting his body collapse onto the ground.
In the distance, Roger, who had rushed over desperately, and Dr. Indigo, the doctor of the Golden Lion Pirates, sighed at the sight.
In the end, Golden Lion had failed to realize his ambition of ruling the world. What made it even more ironic was that this sea was originally the place he had prepared for Roger.
Now, it had become Golden Lion's final resting place—truly a mockery.
Dr. Indigo sighed deeply:
"Shiki... have you fallen just like that?"
On the other side, Roger's face was dark, as if something weighed heavily on his heart that he couldn't voice, his gaze fixed on Golden Lion's mangled body.
"Captain, why are we still taking risks?"
"Garp is right there! Why did we come back and get involved in this fight between the Marines and pirates when we'd already escaped?"
Buggy was on the verge of breaking down, clutching Roger's clothes as he questioned.
Today, he had truly experienced the highs and lows of life.
First, they were trapped by over a dozen of Golden Lion's pirate ships, on the verge of being killed by other pirates.
Then, in the blink of an eye, they encountered a once-in-a-millennium tsunami.
When Buggy saw the tsunami, he truly thought everyone would die.
But unexpectedly, Captain Roger led them straight into the tsunami, turning certain death into a narrow escape.
An emotional Buggy wept tears of joy, almost ready to worship Roger.
Before they could even catch their breath, they ran into Garp, who had been lying in wait.
A barrage of over a dozen cannonballs followed, the explosions throwing the Roger Pirates into chaos again.
Just when they had finally managed to break away after Roger and Garp's clash, Roger gave the order to charge back in.
Buggy couldn't understand it at all.
"Buggy, didn't you say it yourself? This is a fight between the Marines and pirates."
"No matter what kind of relationship we have with that guy Shiki, in terms of identity, that annoying bastard is on the same side as us."
Roger's voice was firm. "Besides, Shiki and I have some history. Even if I don't save him, I should at least bring his body back for a proper burial. How could we leave him in the hands of the Marines?"
Rayleigh's expression turned somber.
After all, Golden Lion Shiki was an old acquaintance of Roger's. Such an ending inevitably evoked sighs of regret.
This shouldn't have been the death scene of a dominant figure.
The Marines' ambush tactics were too dishonorable, and Roger believed he had the right to draw his sword and speak on Shiki's behalf.
The Golden Lion, collapsed on the ground, barely clung to life.
His eyes fixed fiercely on Christian Raleigh, filled with intense malice, as he rasped:
"Never thought I'd see the day... After dominating the New World for so many years, I'd end up dying at the hands of some Marine rookie fresh out of the East Blue."
Raleigh remained silent.
Even if the Golden Lion hadn't died by his hand today, in the next twenty or thirty years, Shiki would have fallen to another rookie from the East Blue—that was his destined fate.
Now, Raleigh had personally altered that destiny.
Garp looked at the blood-soaked Golden Lion lying on the ground with deep emotion.
Golden Lion Shiki had been an old rival.
Their conflict had begun before Sengoku became an admiral, back when the Rocks Pirates still existed.
After all these years and countless storms, few top-tier fighters remained active in the world.
Most had either died or been captured by the Marines, with only a handful choosing seclusion.
"Shiki, for old times' sake, speak your last words if you have any."
Hearing Garp's voice, the Golden Lion struggled to sit up, hoarsely shouting:
"Garp, you've grown old. The future belongs to these two young men. Let me tell you—this world is cruel, and the truth behind it will chill you to the bone. You're not strong enough yet. When you become truly powerful, you'll realize the Marines isn't justice."
"Eventually you'll encounter the real 'history,' and then you'll make the right choice. Maybe you'll even become pirates?"
The Golden Lion opened his mouth in silent laughter.
Raleigh glanced strangely at Kuzan beside him, then back at the Golden Lion, thinking to himself:
Could this guy actually read fortunes?
From the moment we met, he's been subtly hinting that someone would defect from the Marines to become a pirate.
Isn't he basically describing Kuzan?
But the Golden Lion had always spoken in half-truths, so Raleigh couldn't tell whether his words were intentional or not.
Regardless, Kuzan currently had no such intentions—he remained an excellent soldier wholly dedicated to capturing pirates and upholding Burning Justice.
Raising his sword, Raleigh pointed the blade at the Golden Lion's neck and declared.
"Pirates will always be pirates, with limited understanding. We don't need to learn about any history—because we're making history right now."
Snap.
A crisp sound echoed as the sharp edge of Mikazuki Munechika cleanly severed the Golden Lion's neck.
The blade met no resistance as it separated head from body, the Golden Lion's eyes still filled with shock and terror in his final moment.
As the Golden Lion's life faded away, somewhere over the New World, several massive Floating Islands suddenly lost their support and plummeted straight into the sea.
Roger gazed at the decapitated Golden Lion, removed his own hat, and saluted his fallen foe.
He then drew the Supreme Grade sword Ace and shouted.
"Guys, the corpses of pirates must not become trophies for the Marines to flaunt. I will take Shiki's body and give him a proper burial."
Watching Roger and his crew charge forward, Raleigh silently stepped behind Garp.
Currently, the strongest in terms of combat power is the Marine Hero, Vice Admiral Garp.
Although the Roger Pirates have more top-tier fighters and far surpass the Marines in strength, they have just emerged from a major battle and a catastrophic tsunami.
While their spirits are high, their physical stamina has not recovered much.
Moreover, they have just fought another round with Garp.
With Golden Lion's corpse as an excuse, Garp had no intention of engaging in a full-scale battle with the Roger Pirates.
Besides, earlier, he had stopped Raleigh and Kuzan to confront Roger alone, all to let Roger escape.
Under the current circumstances, he couldn't let Roger ruin things.